Final published version
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Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Protecting playgrounds
T2 - local-scale reduction of airborne particulate matter concentrations through particulate deposition on roadside ‘tredges’ (green infrastructure)
AU - Maher, Barbara A.
AU - Gonet, Tomasz
AU - Karloukovski, Vassil V.
AU - Wang, Huixia
AU - Bannan, Thomas J.
PY - 2022/8/20
Y1 - 2022/8/20
N2 - Exposure to traffic-related particulate air pollution has been linked with excess risks for a range of cardiovascular, respiratory and neurological health outcomes; risks likely to be exacerbated in young children attending schools adjacent to highly-trafficked roads. One immediate way of reducing airborne PM concentrations at the local (i.e., near-road community) scale is installation of roadside vegetation as a means of passive pollution abatement. Roadside vegetation can decrease airborne PM concentrations, through PM deposition on leaves, but can also increase them, by impeding airflow and PM dispersion. Critical to optimizing PM removal is selection of species with high particle deposition velocity (Vd) values, currently under-parameterised in most modelling studies. Here, the measured amounts of leaf-deposited magnetic PM after roadside greening (‘tredge’) installation, and measured reductions in playground PM, particle number and black carbon concentrations demonstrate that air quality improvements by deposition can be achieved at the local, near-road, community/playground scale. PM deposition on the western red cedar tredge removed ~ 49% of BC, and ~ 46% and 26% of the traffic-sourced PM2.5 and PM1, respectively. These findings demonstrate that roadside vegetation can be designed, installed and maintained to achieve rapid, significant, cost-effective improvement of air quality by optimising PM deposition on plant leaves.
AB - Exposure to traffic-related particulate air pollution has been linked with excess risks for a range of cardiovascular, respiratory and neurological health outcomes; risks likely to be exacerbated in young children attending schools adjacent to highly-trafficked roads. One immediate way of reducing airborne PM concentrations at the local (i.e., near-road community) scale is installation of roadside vegetation as a means of passive pollution abatement. Roadside vegetation can decrease airborne PM concentrations, through PM deposition on leaves, but can also increase them, by impeding airflow and PM dispersion. Critical to optimizing PM removal is selection of species with high particle deposition velocity (Vd) values, currently under-parameterised in most modelling studies. Here, the measured amounts of leaf-deposited magnetic PM after roadside greening (‘tredge’) installation, and measured reductions in playground PM, particle number and black carbon concentrations demonstrate that air quality improvements by deposition can be achieved at the local, near-road, community/playground scale. PM deposition on the western red cedar tredge removed ~ 49% of BC, and ~ 46% and 26% of the traffic-sourced PM2.5 and PM1, respectively. These findings demonstrate that roadside vegetation can be designed, installed and maintained to achieve rapid, significant, cost-effective improvement of air quality by optimising PM deposition on plant leaves.
KW - Article
KW - /704
KW - /704/172
KW - article
U2 - 10.1038/s41598-022-18509-w
DO - 10.1038/s41598-022-18509-w
M3 - Journal article
VL - 12
JO - Scientific Reports
JF - Scientific Reports
SN - 2045-2322
IS - 1
M1 - 14236
ER -